YouTube partners with Wikipedia to try and curb the spread of conspiracy theory videos – 14.03.2018

YouTube turns to Wikipedia to help it fight conspiracy theory videos

YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki has revealed that the site is pairing up with Wikipedia to try and curb the spread of conspiracy theory videos. Conspiracy theory videos on the site will now include text from Wikipedia pages that users can click on to learn more about the topic in question. For instance, someone watching a video about chemtrails would see a “companion unit” featuring Wikipedia’s “Chemtrail conspiracy theory” page.

*Over the past year, YouTube has struggled to keep its platform free of extremist and offensive content. The move comes weeks after YouTube was criticised for letting a conspiracy theory video about last month’s mass shooting in Parkland, Florida take the top spot in its “Trending” section. conditions.*

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Snapchat pulls ‘awful’ Chris Brown and Rihanna advert

Snapchat has removed an advert from its platform that says, “makes light of domestic violence”. The advert, which is for a game, asks users if they would “rather slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown”. It appears to reference Chris Brown’s conviction for assaulting Rihanna in his car in 2009 while they were dating.

*This incident has raised questions over Snapchat’s ad reviewing process – it will be interesting to see what the platform does to avoid a situation like this happening again.*

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Cupid’s arrow struck Facebook and Instagram users in February

Love was in the air among Facebook and Instagram users in February, as Valentine’s Day was the hottest of Facebook IQ’s Hot Topics for the month. Black History Month was a popular topic of discussion on both social networks, while Facebook users also mentioned Friendship Day, and Super Bowl LII was another popular holiday or event on Instagram.